Sachusetts



J. BURNS.

lNDlCATING DEVICE FOR CARRIERS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-13. l9l2.

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3;, A TTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

JAMES M. BURNS, OF DOWN ERS GROVE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMSON COMPANY,

(FORMERLY LAMSON CONSOLIDATED STORE SERVICE COMPANY) OF BOSTON, MAS- SACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

INDICATING DEVICE FOR CARRIERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

Application filed September 13, 1912. Serial No. 720,117.

State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicating De I vices for Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an indicating device for carriers adapted for use in pneumatic despatch and other despatch systems.

Various means have been provided for indicating the destination of carriers, the particular service or use for which a given carrier is intended, and the like; but considerable difficulty has been encountered in practice, owing to the hard usage to which carriers are subjected, in attempting to overcome the tendency for the parts of the indicating apparatus either to jam and become immovable, or to be subject to inadvertent displacement, or breakage.

Adjustable indicating devices for carriers have, to the best of my knowledge, heretofore been of two general classes, one involving a rotatable or otherwise movable head, or part of the same, by means of which the adjustment of the indicator has been effected; and the other, wherein rings have been positioned upon the tubularbody of the carrier or receptacle.

It is to this latter class that the hereindescribed construction more particularly relates; although, except when the appended claims in effect so specify, I do not wish to be limited to said latter class.

It is obvious that a head which is movable to effect the adjustment or setting of an indicator will ordinarily be more subject to injury or; to working loose after long usage, than one which is solidly and preferably immovably joined to the body of the carrier; since the head is the part of the carrier'which sustains the more or less violent impacts to which a carrier is subjected in normal use. Then too it is customary for operators of the despatch apparatus to knock open the clapper or closure of a sending station inlet by striking the head laterally against the lip of the said clapper. This treatment tends to impair a fragile carrier or one provided with a complicated indicating mechanism, so that in a short time the article is rendered unserviceable.

The patent to Schwab, 863,456, d ted August 13,- 1907, exemplifies a carrier provided with indicating means of the general type to which the present invention relates, and in practice this device has been found generally satisfactory except that after considerable service the rings mounted upon, and which in Schwabs device are intended to closely fit, the tubular body of the carrier, become loose and are then subject to inadvertent displacement either by the hand of the sender or receiver, or while in transit.

The principal object of the present invention therefore is to provide a readily operated means for positively locking or clamping the indicating parts against unintentional movement.

A further object is to so form this looking means as to avoid the use of such unreliable elements as springs, whereby to render the lock positive in action.

A still further object is to provide means for interlocking the several indicating rings or'bands preferably employed so that a plurality of these bands may be moved together when the locking or clamping means aforesaid is in its inoperative or releasing position.

These and other objects of my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel elements and combinations of elements wherebv they may be attainedwill be more particularly set forth in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawing, which forms a part hereof and in which like reference characters designate like parts in the respective views, I have exemplified a preferred construction of my device; but I am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and hence desire to be limited only by the scope of said claims.

Referring to the drawing: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a carrier embodying my novel indicating device; the carrier and device being partly broken away for purposes of illustration. Fig. 2 is aside elevation, the indicating parts being shown in this view in interlocked relationship.

The carrier may comprise the usual tubular body 1, of leather or the like, provided at its rear or lower extremity with a preferably flexible skirt or annulus 2 of leather or other durable material whereby the pressure of the air against this end of the carrier may be effectively utilized for propelling 1t through the despatch tube. The closure for the said carrier or receptacle may be of any suitable description; that shown in the drawing comprising overlapping leather strips 3 and 4, connected together by snap fastening or other connecting means 5.

Rigidly secured, as by means of rivets 6 to the outside of the tube 1 is a cup 6, preferably of brass or the like, which is provided with short studs 7 disposed at intervals there-around; four of these studs being provided in the present case. Said studs extend outwardly into slots 8 in a looking or cam ring 9. The latter may be knurled, if desired, to permit of a firm grasp by the hand of the operator, but it will be observed that the slots 8 are preferably somewhat angularly formed having one portion of each of the same extended slightly obliquely while the end of each of these slots nearest the bottom of the sleeve or ring 9 extends substantially at right angles to the principal or longitudinal axis of the carrier.

The upper extremity of the cup 6 has rigidly secured thereto a disk or plate 10 of fiber, metal or other suitable material, around the periphery of which are a series of recesses or slots 11, the purpose of which will be hereinafter set forth.- Fixedly secured upon the disk 10 is the head 12 of the carrier, which may be of any desired type or form, being preferably made of felt. Tnterposed between this head and the disk 10 is a flexible leather disk 13 which serves as an auxiliary washer or skirt for substantially, retaining air which may escape past the skirt 2 while the carrier is traversing the despatch tube. In so far as the particular construction just described is concerned, however, it may be very different fromv that shown in the drawing, and, except for the fact that the head is preferably rigidly con. nected to the body oil the carrier, does not materially concern the present invention.

The plate or disk 10 is slightly larger in 1 diameter than the outside diameter of the cup 6 so that the slotted periphery thereof overhangs the upper end of this inverted cup whereby the slots 11 may receive tongues or projections 14, of which one or more may be provided upon the upper edge of an indicating ring or band 15. The latter is preferably of metal and may be apertured at one or more points, as at 16, to exhibit a letter such as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing. The letter A, for example, maybe surrounded by a background of suitable color,red, black, blue or the like and in fact the color scheme may be, if desired, substantially identical with that described in the Schwab patent above referred to. The lower edge of the ring 15 is notched or corrugated as at 17 and'a second ring 18,

disposed around the cup 6 immediately below the ring 15, is provided with one or more teeth or projections 19 which are adapted to enter the notches or recesses 17 in the adjoining ring. As shown, the lateral walls of these teeth and notches are inclined or tapered to facilitate the entrance of the teeth into said notches and to insure a close engagement between the adjoining rings when in interlocked relationship, whereby aninadvertent lateral slippage of one with respect to the -other is rendered impossible. The ring 18 may be apertured as at 20 to exhibit a numeral or other designating mark or symbol there-through, it being understood of course that these designating characters, colors, or the like, of which there may be a series, are preferably disposed directly upon the outer surface of the cup 6. Below the ring 18 is a third ring 21, the upper edge of which may be provided with one or more teeth or projections 19 similar to those upon the upper edge of the ring 18, and the lower edge of the latter is correspondingly indented or notched to receive these projections. The ring 21 may have a plurality of characters or numerals thereupon, as sho-wn, and it will be obvious that various combinations may be effected betweenthese numerals and the chosen or selected numeral exhibited through the aperture 20 and the particular color and letter exhibited through the apertures 16. it will also be observed that the aperture 20 not only serves to exhibit the numeral or symbol, upon the cup surface there-through, but also serves as a pointer, any desired numeral upon ring 21 being moved around opposite. the latter; there being a notch in the lower edge of the ring 18 for every one of these numerals upon the ring 21. l

The mode of setting the indicating device is as follows: Assuming that the parts occupy the positions in which they are shown in Fig. 2, it will be noted that the tongue or extension 14 of the ring 15 is in engagement with one of the recesses or slots 11 in the disk 10 so that, of course, ring 15 is non-rotatable. The rings 15-1821 are at such time also firmly interlocked with each other, being held together and the tongue 14, above referred to, being held up in the selected or determined slot 11 by the action of the locking ring 9; the latter having been rotated counterclockwise, as viewed from above, until, in effect, the studs or pins 7 have been moved through the obliquely extending portions of the cam slots 8 into the non-oblique portions of the same. If now it be desired to reset the indicating rings, the ring 9 will be grasped by the hand and rotated counter-clockwise, as viewed from above, whereupon the studs 7 will, in effect, re-traverse slots 8 and upon encountering the sloping or oblique portions thereof will cause the ring 9 to move longitudinally downwardly upon the carrier uring the continued rotation of said ring. Rings l5 1821 may now be drawn downwardly together, withdrawing the teeth or projections 14 from the slots 11 and permitting of the free rotation of the three indicating rings together until the apertures 16 are brought around opposite the desired color or symbols. Thereupon the ring 15 is pushed up, forcing its tongue or tongues 14 again into certain of the slots 11 and locking said ring against rotation. The rings ill-21 are next rotated together until the aperture 20 in ring 18 is brought around opposite a desired number. It will be understood, of course, that the apertures 15 and 20 need not be in alinement. When a desired numeral appears through aperture 20, the ring 18 is pushed up by hand toward the ring 15. Thereafter the remaining ring 21 is rotated until the desired numeral is brought opposite to the aperture 20 in the ring 18, whereupon ring 21 is also pushed upwardly toward the head of the carrier and into interlocking engagement with ring 18. The indicating rings have now been set and it is merely necessary to rotate the ring 9 clockwise so as to again seat the pins 7 in the non-inclined portions of the slots 8 as shown in Fig. 2. The ring 9 is adapted to exert a wedge action upon the several indicating rings and if by any chance these rings have not been driven up properly together so that some of the teeth 19-49 may be but incompletely in engagement with the corresponding notches or recesses of the adjoining ring, the clockwise rotation of the ring 9 urges the others together. It is obvious, of course, that in certain cases this wedge action alone might be depended upon to hold the locking rings against inadvertent rotation; but the provision of the interlocking teeth and notches is of value where the carrier is subjected, as it usually is, to heavy usage. The rings 151821 are preferably rather loosely mounted upon the cup 6 so that they may be rotated quite freely when unlocked, but the ring 9, while movable by hand without great effort, preferably has a somewhat snug engagement with the surface of said cup to prevent inadvertent displacement thereof. The cup 6 serves as a stiffener for the body of the carrier as well as to afford a wearing surface for the ring 9; but the provision of this cup separate and distinct from the material of the carrier body is by no means essential.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A pneumatic despatch carrier comprispendently of said head, and mechanism carried by said body for locking said indicator against inadvertent displacement, said mechanism being substantially entirely upon the exterior of said body and said indicator being movable upon said body to effect indications while in place upon said body, said indicator being normally inseparable from the latter.

2. A pneumatic despatch carrier comprising a hollow body provided with a head in combination with an adjustable indicating ring mounted upon said body substantially independently of said head, and clamping mechanism substantially entirely upon the outside of said body for holding said ring against inadvertent displacement when set in a position determined upon.

3. An indicating pneumatic despatch carrier comprising a hollow body and a plurality of indicating rings mounted thereon, one of said rings being movable independently of another, said rings having interlocking engaging parts whereby they may be held in the relationship with respect to each other desired.

4. An indicating pneumatic despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, and a plurality of rotatable indicating elements mounted thereon, said elements having inter-engaging parts whereby they may be held in the relationship with respect to each other desired.

5. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, and a plurality of laterally separable indicating elements rotatably mounted thereon, said elements having inter-engaging parts whereby they may be held against rotation with respect to each other in the relationship desired.

6. An indicating despatch carrier "comprising a receptacle, a plurality of indicating elements mounted thereon, said elements having inter-engaging parts whereby they may be held against rotation with respect to each other in the relationship desired, and means for holding said elements, when the parts thereof are inter-engaged, against inadvertent movement with respect to said receptacle.

7. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, a plurality of indicating elements mounted thereon, said elements having inter-engaging parts whereby they may be held in the relationship with respect to each other desired, and means, including a wedge-acting part, for holding said elements, when the parts thereof are inter-engaged, against inadvertent movement with respect to said receptacle.

8. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, an adjustable indicator mounted for rotary movement on said receptacle, a revoluble wedge-acting part mounted upon the exterior of said receptacle and in sliding engagement therewith, for preventing the inadvertent change of the setting of said indicator, and means upon said receptacle against which said wedge-acting part exerts a thrust when wedging said indicator fast, said last mentioned means having a sliding engagement with said wedge-acting part.

9. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, an indicator rotatably mounted thereon, means for holding said indicator against rotation, said means including a rotatable part slidably mounted upon the exterior of said receptacle for movement in the direction of the principal axis of said receptacle, and means, separate from said indicator and also upon the exterior of said receptacle, for displacing said part in the direction of said axis when said part is rotated with respect to said receptacle.

10. An indicating pneumatic despatch carrier comprising a receptacle having an indicator engaging part, a plurality of movable indicators mounted on said receptacle, and means for preventing the inadvertent change of the setting of said indicators,said means including an inter-locking connection between one of said indicators and said part, and an interlocking connection between said indicators.

11. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle having an indicator engaging part, a plurality of movable indicators mounted on said receptacle, and means for preventing the inadvertent change of the setting of said indicators, said means in eluding an. inter-locking tongue and recess connection between one of said indicators and said part, an inter-locking tongue and recess connection between said indicators, and means for preventing the separation of the elements of said tongue and recess connections.

12. An indicating despatch carrier comprising a receptacle, an indicating element.

mounted thereon, said element being movable into two positions with respect to a portion of said receptacle while in place upon the latter and being rotatable ,when in one of said positions for the purpose of setting the same, said element being non-rotatable when in the other of said positions, and positive meansfor holding said element in said last mentioned position, said means including a rotatably mounted wedging device for exerting a thrust against said element to maintain it in its non-rotatable position and means rigidly connected to said receptacle for sustaining the oppositely acting thrust of said wedging device.

In testimony whereof I have afliXed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES M. BURNS.

Witnesses:

EDWARD ZEMMIN, 1F. H. JoHNs'roN. 

